ANTHROPOLOGICAL  PAPERS 


OF   THE 


.     American  Tluseum  of  Natural 

History. 


Vol.  XII,  Part  II. 


PREHISTORIC  BRONZE  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA. 


BY 

CHARLES  Wi  MEAD. 


NEW  YORK: 

Published  by  Order  of  the  Trustees. 
1915. 


ART 


PREHISTORIC  BRONZE  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA. 
BY  CHARLES  W.  MEAD. 


617 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

DEPARTMENT  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 

HOUSEHOLD  ART 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

INTRODUCTION  19 

PERU  AND  BOLIVIA  .        38 

ARGENTINA  .        44 

CHILE  .        45 

GENERAL  DISCUSSION      .  .        46 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  52 


ILLUSTRATIONS 
TEXT  FIGURES. 

PAGE. 

1      Typos  of  Implements  from  the  Island  of  Titicaca,  Bolivia  .                  .31 

2.  Types  of  Implements  from  Tiahuanaeo,  Bolivia        .  33 

3.  Typical  Objects  from  Cuzco,  Peru     .  35 

4.  Three  fine  Knives  from  Cajamarca,  Peru  .         37 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  principal  object  of  this  paper  is  to  put  on  record  the  results  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  analyses  of  prehistoric  copper  and  bronze  objects  from 
Peru  and  Bolivia.  These  analyses  were  made  for  the  American  Museum  of 
Natural  History  by  Mr.  W.  A.  Wissler.  Also  six  specimens  analyzed  for 
the  Museum  by  Doctors  Morris  Loeb  and  S.  R.  Morey,  and  five  specimens 
analyzed  by  Professor  S.  P.  Sharpies  for  the  Peabody  Museum,  Harvard 
University,  for  which  I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Professor  F.  W. 
Putnam. 

The  figures  show  most  of  the  forms  of  objects  from  which  samples  of 
metal  have  been  taken  for  these  analyses. 

In  the  following  tables  the  amount  of  copper  and  tin  is  given.  It  was 
not  considered  important  to  determine  the  exact  amount  of  the  other  metals, 
but  their  presence  or  absence  is  noted.  For  convenience,  chemical  symbols 
have  been  used.1 

Mr.  Wissler  reports  on  his  analyses,  as  follows :  — 

The  table  consists  of  analyses  made  at  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History 
of  prehistoric  bronze  and  copper  specimens  from  South  America,  to  determine  whether 
the  addition  of  tin  was  intentionally  and  scientifically  made. 

Owing  to  the  small  amount  of  drillings  taken  for  the  analyses,  in  some  cases  only 
.07  gram,  the  results  should  be  taken  as  a  close  approximation  of  the  true  composition. 

Tin  was  determined  as  stannic  oxide,  by  the  method  of  Busse.  In  all  cases 
where  the  total  precipitate  weighed  less  than  15  mg.  it  was  weighed  as  such.  If 
there  was  more  than  this  amount  the  precipitate  was  fused  with  caustic  potash  and 
the  tin  determined  electrolytically.  Copper  was  determined  by  iodometry,  except 
ing  that  in  all  cases  where  the  total  amount  was  less  than  .15  gm.  it  was  determined 
electrolytically. 

Qualitative  tests  were  made  by  the  Johnson-Marsh  test  for  arsenic  and  anti 
mony,  dimethyl  glyoxime  for  nickel,  and  the  ordinary  routine  methods  for  the  other 
metals.  Tin  was  detected  by  the  presence  of  the  oxide  after  solution  in  nitric  acid, 
and  was  found  to  appear  plainly  and  certainly  when  present  to  the  amount  of  .00001 
gram.  The  table  records  all  tests  made,  whether  with  positive  or  negative  results. 

In  some  cases,  as  for  example  in  catalogue  numbers  9195  and  9188,  the  specimens 
were  so  corroded  that  the  initial  weight  of  the  sample  was  discarded,  a  complete 
analysis  made,  and  the  total  weight  of  the  metals  found  taken  as  the  true  weight. 

Numbers  3114  and  5166  are  distinctly  estimates,  probably  correct  within  one 
percent  of  the  true  analysis.  In  numbers  2486,  760,  4599,  7791,  9193,  9205,  9194, 
9198,  2821a,  2644,  9199,  2792b,  2800,  2639,  9191,  9190,  2791a,  2804,  2821b,  9208,  857, 
858,  860,  6584,  9187,  4265,  2791b,  2821c,  1819,  1955,  5192d,  9189,  1961,  2094,  1965, 


i  Cu,  copper;  Sn.tin;  Pb.  lead;  Ag,  silver;  As,  arsenic;   Sb,  antimony;  Ni,  nickel;  Zn, 
zinc;  S,  sulphur;  Au,  gold;  Fe,  iron. 

19 


20  Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.   [Vol.  XII. 

1807,  1998,  2068,  9206,  2643,  9210,  1834,  1806  copper  was  determined  by  difference 
after  the  absence  of  other  metals  had  been  established. 

In  several  cases  the  absence  of  lead  has  been  marked  with  a  question  mark,  as  at 
the  time  it  was  not  considered  necessary  to  test  for  it,  but  if  present  it  would  very 
probably  have  been  noticed  in  the  method  of  analysis  used. 

In  a  paper  by  Doctors  Loeb  and  Morey,  read  at  the  December  (1909) 
meeting  of  the  American  Chemical  Society  the  six  specimens  analyzed  by 
them  for  the  Museum  are  thus  described :  — 

It  will  be  seen  that  these  metals  differ  remarkably  in  composition,  and  indicate 
the  possession  of  considerable  metallurgical  skill  by  the  inhabitants  of  that  region. 
The  absence  of  the  slightest  traces  of  silver  may  be  taken  as  a  proof  that  the  tin  was 
derived  from  cassiterite,  rather  than  native  tin.  The  specimen,  catalogue  number  859 
(this  is  the  socketed  spear  point  from  Chan  Chan  on  the  northern  coast),  suggests 
its  preparation  from  domekite,  or  some  other  copper  arsenide,  fairly  free  from  sul 
phur.  Owing  to  the  small  mass  of  samples,  which  were  drilled  or  cut  from  the 
specimens,  the  density  determinations,  made  with  water  in  a  pycnometer,  are  only 
approximate.  In  specimen,  catalogue  number  1949,  a  cast  chisel  with  characteristic 
air-holes  or  "pipes,"  the  porosity  of  the  material  undoubtedly  occasioned  a  low  result. 
Tin  and  copper  were  separated  by  potassium  polysulphide,  the  former  determined  as 
stannic  oxide  and  the  latter  electrolytically.  Arsenic  was  separated  from  copper 
by  Crookes'  method,  and  sulphur  was  weighed  as  barium  sulphate  after  oxidation 
with  nitric  acid  in  a  sealed  tube.1 

Of  these  six  objects  five  come  from  the  Island  of  Titicaca,  Bolivia. 
They  all  contain  tin,  the  average  being  6.59  percent.  The  spear  point  comes 
from  Chan  Chan  on  the  northern  coast  and  contains  no  tin. 


Journal  of  the  American  Chemical  Society,  vol.  XXXII,  No.  5,  May,  1910. 


ANALYSES. 
TABLE  I.     BY  W.  A.  WISSLER. 


22 


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FIGURE  1. 
Types  of  Implements  from  the  Island  of  Titicaca,  Bolivia. 

Fig.  a  (1956)  shows  a  needle,  4|  in.  long.     It  contains  4  percent  of  tin. 

Fig.  b  (1846)  is  a  battle  ax.  This  form,  which  is  not  uncommon,  is  a  modifica 
tion  of  the  six-pointed  or  morningstar  club  head,  so  common  in  both  stone  and  metal. 
In  this  case  one  of  the  points  was  flattened  out  into  the  form  of  an  ax  blade.  It  was 
cast  in  a  mould,  and  the  blade  hammered  into  shape.  The  percentage  of  tin  is 
10.02. 

Figs,  c,  d,  e  (2046,  2045,  1834)  are  bolas,  containing  respectively  5,  7.26,  and  2.48 
percent  of  tin.  Each  has  a  hollow  space  inside  with  a  cross-bar  to  which  the  cord  was 
attached.  The  bola,  as  used  by  the  Peruvians  for  hunting  consisted  of  three  balls 
of  stone  or  metal  united  by  thongs  to  a  common  center.  One  of  the  balls  is  smaller 
than  the  others,  and  this  one  was  held  in  the  hand,  and  the  other  two  whirled  about 
the  head.  When  released  a  bola  goes  revolving  through  the  air,  and  on  striking  the 
legs  of  an  animal  it  winds  around  them,  and  brings  him  down. 

Figs,  f,  g  (1998,  1782)  show  topos  or  pins,  used  to  hold  a  shawl-like  garment  to 
gether  at  the  throat.  In  the  head  of  these  pins  are  perforations  for  cords.  Such 
pins  were  often  made  to  do  double  duty.  The  two  shown  here  have  the  upper  edge 
of  the  head  sharpened,  and  were  used  as  knives.  Often  the  head  was  in  the  form  of  a 
spoon,  and  doubtless  used  in  eating  the  ground  parched  corn,  which  was  and  is  one 
of  the  favorite  foods.  Both  pins  contain  4.13  percent  of  tin. 

Fig.  h  (2486)  is  a  knife,  5|  in.  high.  A  portion  of  the  blade  is  missing.  The 
handle  terminates  in  a  well-formed  hand.  It  was  cast,  and  the  blade  hammered. 
It  contains  9.12  percent  of  tin. 

Fig.  i  (1839)  is  a  chisel-like  implement.  Its  cutting  edge  is  at  the  lower  end;  the 
upper  end  is  made  larger  that  it  might  be  held  firmly  in  the  hand.  Such  implements 
often  have  this  end  extended  out  on  both  sides,  like  the  top  of  the  ax  shown  in  Fig.  3b. 
Analysis  shows  this  implement  to  be  of  nearly  pure  copper. 


1915. 


Mead,  Prehistoric  Bronze. 


31 


Fig.   1. 


FIGURE  2. 
Typos  of  Implements  from  Tiahuanaeo,  Bolivia. 

Fig.  a  (2797)  shows  a  topo  or  pin  with  its  head  perforated  for  suspension.  It 
contains  8.32  percent  of  tin. 

Fig.  b  (2791a)  is  a  common  form  of  the  Peruvian  knife.  The  tip  of  the  handle  is 
missing  in  this  specimen.  The  percentage  of  tin  is  6.17. 

Figs,  c,  d,  e  (2S21d,  2821b,  2821a)  shows  a  form  of  pendant  that  seems  to  be 
peculiar  to  Tiahuanaco,  and  not  found  at  any  great  distance  from  that  place.  They 
contain  respectively  1.28,  10.59,  and  7.41  percent  of  tin. 

Figs,  f,  g  (2792b,  2792e)  are  copper  clamps.  They  are  used  to  hold  the  blocks  of 
stone  together  in  some  of  the  buildings  in  Tiahuanaco,  and  have  been  found  in  no 
other  locality.  They  arc  about  5  in.  in  length,  and  are  without  a  trace  of  tin. 

Fig.  h  (2794)  is  a  topo  or  pin,  4£  in.  long.  It  is  perforated  for  suspension,  and  is  a 
good  example  of  the  double  use  of  such  pins,  as  its  head  is  shaped  like  a  Peruvian 
knife.  The  upper  surface  has  been  brought  to  a  cutting  edge.  Percentage  of  tin 
7.79. 


32 


1915.1 


Mead,  Prehistoric  Bronze. 


33 


H    i 


Fig.   2. 


FIGURE  3. 
Typical  Objects  from  Cuzco,  Peru. 

Fig.  a  (9189).  Cast  figure  of  a  llama.  Such  figures  were  buried  in  the  fields 
where  the  llamas  grazed  as  a  prayer  or  charm  for  the  increase  of  the  flock.  This 
specimen  contains  8.54  percent  of  tin. 

Fig.  b  (9188)  is  an  ax  or  hatchet  with  the  upper  part  extended  out  on  both  sides, 
which  made  the  attachment  of  a  handle  an  easy  matter.  It  was  cast  and  hammered, 
and  contains  3.87  percent  of  tin. 

Fig.  c  (9191)  is  an  odd  form  of  bola,  containing  9.64  percent  of  tin.  It  was  used 
in  the  same  way  as  the  balls  shown  in  Fig.  Ic,  d,  e. 

Fig.  d  (9187)  shows  a  battle  ax.  It  is  3|f  in.  high;  the  blade  5|  in.  long.  Like 
the  other  implements  described  this  shows  plainly  the  marks  of  having  been  cast 
in  a  mould.  The  percentage  of  tin  is  7.14. 

Fig.  e  (9202)  shows  a  very  common  form  of  chisel,  3|  in.  long.  It  is  battered  and 
turned  over  on  both  ends  as  if  used  on  stone.  It  was  cast  and  hammered,  and 
contains  4.25  percent  of  tin. 


34 


1915.1 


Mead,  Prehistoric  Bronze. 


35 


Fig.   3. 


FIGURE  4. 

Three  fine  Knives  from  Cajamarca,  Peru.  They  have  been  cast  in  moulds,  and 
the  blades  have  been  hammered. 

Fig.  a  (9615)  is  6|  in.  high,  and  the  blade  4-f  in.  long.  Two  human  figures  rest 
on  the  cross  piece  of  the  handle.  This  knife  contains  5.67  percent  of  tin. 

Fig.  b  (9196)  is  4f  in.  high,  the  blade  1|  in.  long.  The  handle  ends  in  a  llama's 
head;  a  very  truthful  and  spirited  representation,  and  one  of  the  most  artistic 
castings  in  the  collection.  The  amount  of  tin  in  this  specimen  is  5.76  percent. 

Fig.  c  (483)  is  5|  in.  high;  the  blade  4£  in.  long.  On  the  cross  piece  of  the  handle, 
facing  each  other,  are  a  man  and  one  of  the  great  cats.  This  specimen  has  not  been 
analyzed. 


36 


1915.1 


Mead,  Prehistoric  Bronze. 


37 


PERU  AND  BOLIVIA. 

The  implements  and  ornaments  of  bronze  which  have  been  found  in 
such  large  numbers  in  the  prehistoric  burial  places  within  the  boundaries 
of  the  ancient  Peruvian  Empire  have  caused  much  difference  of  opinion  and 
discussion  as  to  whether  the  mixture  of  copper  and  tin,  the  component  parts 
of  bronze,  was  intentional  or  purely  accidental.  In  other  words,  did  the 
copper  which  they  mined  contain  among  its  other  impurities  tin  in  such 
quantities  as  is  found  in  these  objects  by  analysis,  or  were  the  two  metals 
separately  procured  and  smelted  together  with  the  intention  of  producing 
a  harder  metal.  In  the  following  pages  I  propose  to  review  such  evidence 
as  we  have  at  the  present  time  bearing  on  this  question. 

The  early  historians,  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  and  Father  Barba,  state 
positively  that  the  Indians  were  acquainted  with  the  secret  of  making 
bronze.  Garcilasso  tells  us:—  "They  worked  with  certain  instruments 
they  had  made  of  copper,  mixed  with  a  sort  of  fine  brass."  l  At  the  time 
the  Inca  historian  wrote  tin  was  often  called  brass,  not  only  in  South  America 
but  in  Europe  as  well.  Confusion  in  the  names  of  metals  is  an  old  one  for 
we  read  in  Sir  John  Lubbock  that,  "  In  the  Pentateuch,  excluding  Deuter 
onomy,  bronze,  or  as  it  is  unfortunately  translated,  brass,  is  mentioned 
thirty-eight  times."  : 

Early  in  the  seventeenth  century  the  Licentiate  Alvaro  Alonso  Barba 
published  his  "Arte  De  Los  Metales."  In  Chapter  XXXIV  of  this  work 
entitled  "On  Metals  and  Artificial  Metallic  Articles"  I  find  the  following 
paragraph :  — 

Art  also  has  its  metals,  and  a  multitude  of  manufactured  metallic  articles  imitate 
the  beauty  of  nature.  From  a  mixture  of  tin  and  copper  is  made  the  bronze  for  balls, 
pieces  of  artillery  and  other  articles.  One  pound  of  tin  is  taken,  and  from  four  to 
eight  pounds  of  copper,  according  to  the  variety  of  the  tin.  The  Indians  knew  of  this 
mixture,  and  used  it  to  give  hardness  to  their  instruments  and  arms,  as  we  use  steel 
or  tempered  iron,  which  were  unknown  to  them. 

Father  Barba  combined  with  his  sacred  duties,  as  priest,  that  of  the 
office  of  director  of  the  mines;  his  Parish  of  San  Barnado  being  situated  in 
the  very  heart  of  the  mining  district  of  Bolivia. 

The  book  from  which  I  have  quoted  above  enjoyed  a  great  reputation 
in  his  time  on  account  of  his  attainments  as  a  metallurgist  and  his  knowledge 


1  Royal  Commentaries,  Book  II,  Chap.  XVI. 
»  Prehistoric  Times,  5. 

38 


1915.]  Mead,  Prehistoric  Bronze.  39 

of  the  mining  industry.  His  intimate  relations  with  the  Indians,  as  priest 
and  mine  director,  previous  to  1639,  should  give  great  weight  to  his  state 
ment  that  the  Indians  knew  the  secret  of  mixing  tin  with  copper  to  harden 
their  arms  and  tools.  Another  circumstance  that  should  be  taken  into 
account  in  estimating  the  value  of  his  statement  is  the  great  probability  that 
the  parents  of  some  of  his  Indians  must  have  been  living  at  the  time  of  the 
Conquest,  and  the  facts  in  the  case  well  known  in  his  day. 

The  edition  of  "Arte  De  Los  Metales"  published  in  Madrid  in  1039  is 
now  one  of  the  rarest  of  books,  and  I  have  been  informed  that  a  short  time 
ago  but  two  copies  were  known  to  exist  in  South  America.  One  of  these 
lately  came  into  the  possession  of  Mr.  E.  P.  Mathewson,  the  well  known 
metallurgist  and  manager  of  the  Anaconda  Copper  Mining  Company  of 
Montana.  Mr.  Mathewson  knowing  that  I  was  interested  in  the  subject 
of  prehistoric  bronze  in  South  America  very  kindly  loaned  me  the  book  with 
permission  to  make  use  of  it  any  wa.y  that  would  further  my  studies  in  that 
direction. 

During  my  researches  I  have  often  met  with  mention  of  Barba's  work, 
usually  followed  by  the  remark:  "not  available  to  the  author."  A  transla 
tion  of  a  part  of  the  title  page  will  show  the  general  character  of  the  book. 
"The  Art  of  Metals  wherein  is  taught  the  true  process  of  working  Gold, 
Silver,  Quicksilver.  The  manner  of  melting  them,  and  how  they  should  be 
refined  and  separated  one  from  the  other." 

Chapter  XXXII  deals  with  tin,  and  believing  that  it  will  be  of  interest 
to  the  many  who  have  been  unable  to  see  the  book,  I  give  a  translation  of 
it  in  full  below:  — 

Many  call  white  lead  what  we  call  tin,  and  this  name  is  also  given  by  those  who 
separate  Silver  from  Copper  to  the  Lead  that  is  found  mixed  with  Silver,  as  will  be 
explained  further  on,  owing  to  its  white  appearance  and  to  the  harshness  that  is  felt 
when  it  is  bitten  or  broken.  Common  tin  is  produced  by  the  same  principles  as  Lead, 
but  more  purified  and  clean,  from  which  it  obtains  its  greater  whiteness  and  hardness, 
although  from  the  poor  mixture  of  its  pastes  it  is  called  "stuttering"  and  causes  the 
harshness  above  mentioned.  It  is  the  poison  of  metals,  as  all  that  get  mixed  with  it, 
will  turn  brittle,  because  by  its  company,  the  equal  mixture  they  had  before,  is  per 
verted,  and  their  ductibility,  or  expansion  by  the  stroke  of  the  hammer,  is  hindered. 

Only  Lead  is  free  from  this  disadvantage,  as  with  its  excessive  moisture  and  soft 
ness,  it  is  penetrated  anoVgoes  on  with  its  badly  mixed  parts  of  tin,  and  both  remain 
ductile.  Tin  materials  are  not  common  everywhere,  but  they  are  not  scarce  in  these 
rich  Provinces, —  Famous  is  the  District  of  Collquirino,  distant  from  that  of  San 
Felipe  de  Austria  of  Oruro,  for  the  great  quantity  of  very  good  ores  that  have  been 
taken  out  and  are  being  taken,  for  all  this  kingdom,  among  the  metals  of  which,  as 
has  already  been  observed,  rich  pockets  of  silver  arc  often  found.  Near  Chayanta, 
in  the  Charcas  there  is  another  Tin  mine,  which  has  been  abundantly  worked  of  late 
years.  Not  far  from  Carabuco,  one  of  the  towns  bordering  on  the  margin  of  the  mag- 


40  Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.   [Vol.  XII, 

nificent  Chucuyto  Lake,  toward  the  borders  of  the  Province  of  Larecaxa,  there  are 
also  mines  of  this  metal  which  the  Indians  in  the  time  of  their  Incas  worked  and  after 
wards  were  continued  by  the  Spaniards.  The  veins  are  large  and  the  metals  rich  of 
their  kind;  from  among  them  some  ores  are  also  taken  containing  much  silver,  and 
all  partake  of  some  copper,  and  on  account  of  this  mixture  this  tin  is  more  showy  and 
ha.rd.  The  fame  of  the  richness  of  these  veins,  induced  me  to  visit  them,  aside  from 
the  desire  I  have  had  of  seeing  and  testing  the  ores  of  all  these  Provinces.  In  the  hills 
of  Pie  de  Gallo  of  Oruro  there  is  much  tin,  although  not  known  by  many,  and  because 
no  silver,  which  all  seek,  is  found  there,  they  pass  them  by.  One  of  the  four  principal 
rich  veins  that  deserved  the  name,  among  the  great  multitude  of  them  that  are  found 
in  this  peerless  Potosi  Hill,  is  the  one  called  the  "Tin  Vein"  on  account  of  the  great 
quantity  it  had  on  the  surface  of  the  land  and  which  lower  down  was  converted  into 
Silver,  owing  to  the  better  arrangement  of  the  substance  found. 

And  in  the  district  of  the  Parish  of  San  Bernardo,  where  I  serve  at  present,  and  a 
quarter  of  a  league  more  or  less  from  it,  there  are  veins  of  very  rich  tin  metal,  which 
His  Excellency,  went  personally  to  inspect,  on  information  regarding  same  given  by 
me,  encouraging  by  this,  as  by  many  other  actions,  those  that  are  engaged  in  the 
working  of  the  mines,  from  which  so  much  benefit  accrues  to  the  Royal  Treasury 
of  His  Majesty,  and  for  the  good  of  his  subjects. 

The  localities  mentioned  are  in  Bolivia,  on  the  shore  of  the  great  lake 
of  Chucuyto  (Titicaca)  or  at  no  great  distance  from  it.  We  are  told  the 
locality  of  several  tin  mines,  and  that  large  quantities  of  that  metal  had 
already  been  taken  out. 

It  has  been  observed  by  Boman,  Verneau  and  Rivet,  and  others  that  the 
proportion  of  objects  of  copper  containing  tin  increases  from  north  to  south, 
reaching  its  maximum  in  Bolivia  and  the  high  plateau  region  of  Peru.  This 
contention  is  supported  by  the  analyses  given  here.  In  these  tables  we 
find  fifty -one  objects  from  Chepen,  in  the  northern  coast  region  of  Peru, 
and  of  this  number  but  five  contain  more  than  a  trace  of  tin,  and  only  one 
of  these  over  four  percent  of  that  metal.  From  Trujillo,  also  in  the  north 
ern  coast  region  we  have  eight  specimens  none  of  them  containing  a  trace 
of  tin. 

From  Cuzco,  in  the  high  central  plateau  region,  sixteen  objects,  all  but 
one  of  which  contain  tin,  the  average  being  5.50  percent. 

From  Bolivia  seventy-two  analyses  showing  that  fifty-nine  of  the  objects 
are  of  bronze,  averaging  6.24  percent  of  tin. 

Of  the  seventeen  specimens  from  Tiahuanaco  twelve  are  of  bronze, 
averaging  6.50  percent  of  tin.  The  other  five,  which  contain  no  tin  are  the 
clamps  used  to  hold  the  stones  of  the  buildings  together.  Adrien  de  Mor- 
tillet  *  gives  the  analyses  of  six  objects  from  Tiahuanaco.  Two  of  these  are 
clamps,  and  have  not  a  trace  of  tin,  while  the  other  four  pieces  are  bronze, 
averaging  6.56  percent  of  tin. 


Paper  presented  at  the  Premier  Opngres  Prehistorique  de  France,  1905. 


1915.]  Mead,  Prehistoric  Bronze.  41 

Of  the  twenty-five  analyses  given  by  Boman  1  of  objects  from  Peru  arid 
Bolivia  sixteen  show  tin  in  quantities  ranging  from  2.10  to  11.42  percent. 
None  of  these  bronze  pieces  show  a  trace  of  silver. 

In  the  table  of  analyses  by  Mr.  Wissler  we  find  eighty-three  specimens 
of  bronze  and  as  none  of  these  contained  silver  I  think  we  may  safely  con 
clude  that  the  alloy  was  cassiterite  or  oxide  of  tin. 

The  Peruvian  bronze  problem  was  taken  up  in  a  very  interesting  and 
instructive  way  by  Messrs.  H.  W.  Foote  and  W.  H.  Buell 2  in  their  investiga 
tions  as  to  the  composition,  structure  and  hardness  of  three  bronze  axes 
obtnii.jd  by  the  Yale  Peruvian  Expedition,  under  Professor  Hiram  Bingham 
ui  1911. 

Messrs.  Foote  and  Buell  say:  — 

We  have  determined,  first  the  chemical  composition  of  the  axes;  second,  their 
micrographic  structure,  and  third,  their  hardness.  By  comparing  the  structure  of 
one  of  the  axes  with  that  of  a  new  alloy  of  the  same  composition,  we  have  been  able 
to  draw  conclusions  as  to  the  methods  used  originally  in  making  the  axes. 

The  following  results  are  given:  — 

1  2  3 

Tin  12.03  5.58  3.36 

Copper  88.06  93.94  96.44 

Iron  0.08  none  trace 

Silver  none  0.65  none 

Sulphur  0.35  0.08  0.23 

Lead  none  trace  none 


100.52  100.25  100.03 

Ax  no.  1,  containing  12  percent  of  tin,  was  taken  for  comparison  as  being  more 
interesting  than  the  others  from  a  metallurgical  standpoint.  A  bar  of  metal  was  cast, 
containing  88  parts  of  copper  and  12  of  tin,  and  from  this  a  new  ax  was  forged.  It 
was  found  that  this  could  only  be  done  at  a  temperature  above  500°  C.  and  either 
forged  hot  or  quenched  suddenly  and  forged  cold.  If  heated  and  allowed  to  cool 
slowly  the  alloy  was  extremely  brittle  and  broke  in  pieces  under  the  hammer. 

The  authors  say :  — 

The  original  ax  no.  1,  shows  from  its  shape  and  from  the  marks  on  it  that  it 
has  been  forged.  The  original  shape  of  the  casting  cannot  be  told,  but  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  shape  has  been  materially  changed  by  the  forging. 

In  conclusion  they  remark :  — 

Taking  into  account  the  facts  of  micro-structure  and  that  the  ax  has  been  forged, 
it  is  fair  to  infer  that  after  casting  the  original  alloy,  it  was  heated  to  a  temperature 


Antiquites  do  La  Region  Amtine,  Tablo  facing  p.  868. 
The  American  Journal  of  Science,  Aug.,  1912,  pp.  128-132. 


42  Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.   [Vol.  XII, 

considerably  above  500°  C.  and  either  forged  hot  or  quenched  suddenly  and  forged 
cold.  This  required  a  very  considerable  degree  of  skill  on  the  part  of  the  original 
makers. 

Bolivia  has  for  years  ranked  second  only  to  the  Malay  Peninsula  in  its 
output  of  tin,  and  may  today  be  the  greatest  tin  producing  country  of  the 
world.  Bolivian  tin  is  for  the  most  part  found  in  the  form  of  cassiterite  or 
oxide  of  tin. 

Father  Barba,  in  his  chapter  on  tin,  names  Carabuco  as  one  of  the 
localities  where  the  Indians  had  obtained  this  metal.  David  Forbes,  under 
the  heading  of  —  Cassiterite-Carabuco-Bolivia  —  says:  — 

Tin  ores  occur  extensively  in  the  province  of  Laricaja  in  northern  Bolivia,  on  the 
west  slope  of  the  High  Andes  range  close  to  the  eastern  shore  of  Lake  Titicaca,  at 
Carabuco.  They  occur  here  associated  with  several  minerals  containing  silver,  and 
in  the  time  of  the  Spaniards  were  worked  exclusively  for  the  nobler  metal:  of  late 
years,  however,  the  deads  of  these  mines  have  been  and  still  are  worked  for  tin.  The 
tin  ore  is  in  the  greatest  part  cassiterite,  which  occurs  crystallized  in  prisms,  having 
a  specific  gravity  of  6.4.  Mr.  Philip  Kroeber  has  forwarded  me  the  subjoined  results 
of  his  analysis  of  these  crystals.1 

Water  1.737 

Tin  76.805 

Oxygen  19 . 534 

Iron  2.177 

Silver  0.015 
Tungstic  acid    0 . 020 

Lead  0.250 


100.538 

It  was  also  an  easy  matter  for  the  Indians  to  have  collected  considerable 
quantities  of  cassiterite  from  the  sands  of  many  of  the  Bolivian  rivers  by 
washing.  In  these  sands  it  generally  occurs  in  semi-rounded  nodules,  and 
is  easily  reduced. 

The  ancient  Peruvians  melted  their  ores  in  cylindrical  pottery  furnaces, 
called  Guayms.  Garcilasso  says:  — 

Neither  did  they  know  how  to  make  P'iles  or  Graving  tools,  or  Bellows  for  Melting 
down  Metals;  but  instead  thereof  used  Pipes  made  of  Copper,  of  about  a  Yard  long, 
the  end  of  which  was  narrow,  that  the  Breath  might  pass  more  forcibly  by  means  of 
the  contraction.  And  as  the  Fire  was  to  be  more  or  less,  so  accordingly  they  used 
eight,  ten  or  twelve  of  these  Pipes  at  once,  as  the  quantity  of  Metal  did  require. 
And  still  they  continue  this  way,  though  our  Invention  of  Bellows  is  much  more 
easier  and  forcible  to  raise  the  Fire.  Nor  had  they  the  use  of  Tongs  to  rake  their 
heated  Metal  out  of  the  Fire,  but  rather  drew  it  thence  by  a  piece  of  Wood,  or  some 

'  Philosophical  Maga/.ino,  vol.  XXX,  p.  141,  1865. 


1915.]  Mead,  Prehistoric  Bronze.  43 

Bar  of  Copper;  with  which  they  cast  it  into  a  heap  of  wet  Earth,  which  they  kept 
purposely  by  them  to  cool  their  Metal,  until  such  time  as  they  could  take  it  into 
their  hands.1 

The  Museum's  Peruvian  collections  contain  two  of  the  copper  pipes 
described  by  Garcilasso.  These  are  31  and  25  inches  long  respectively. 
They  are  both  made  of  rather  thick  sheet  copper  and  have  at  one  end  a 
tunnel-shaped  mouthpiece  about  3|  inches  in  diameter  at  the  rim.  This 
part  was  made  separately  by  bending  the  sheet  copper  into  the  desired  form 
and  then  hammering  or  welding  the  edges  firmly  together.  This  mouth 
piece  was  welded  to  the  tube  which  was  made  by  bending  the  copper  into 
the  cylindrical  form.  In  this  case  the  edges  are  nicely  brought  together, 
but  not  welded.  The  outside  of  the  tube  shows  how  these  edges  were  held 
together,  for  the  marks  of  a  closely  wound  cord  of  some  kind  are  plainly  to 
be  seen  from  the  mouthpiece  to  within  half  an  inch  of  the  end  that  was 
inserted  in  the  clay  furnace. 

Dr.  Daniel  Wilson  in  his  wrell  knowrn  work  on  Prehistoric  Man  2  gives  the 
following  analyses  of  American  bronze  objects:  — 

No.                         Locality  Copper                       Tin                          Iron 

1  Chisel  from  silver  mines,  Cuzco  94.  6. 

2  Chisel  from  Cuzco  92.385  7.615 

3  Knife  from  grave,  Atacama  97.87  2.13 

4  Knife  from  grave  96 .  4 . 

5  Crowbar  from  Chile  92.385  7.615 

6  Knife  from  Amaro  95 . 664  3 . 965                   0.371 

7  Perforated  ax  96 .  4 . 

8  Personal  ornament,  Truigilla  95.440  4.560 

9  Bodkin  from  female  grave,  Truigilla'          96 .70  3 . 30 

No.  1.  Humboldt  No.  5.  Dr.  T.  C.  Jackson 

2.  Dr.  J.  H.  Gibbon  6,  7.  Dr.  H.  Croft 

3,  4.  J.  H.  Blake,  Esq.  8,  9.  T.  Ewbank,  Esq. 

These  scattered  analyses,  collected  by  Dr.  Wilson  forty  years  ago,  are 
familiar  to  most  archaeologists.  While  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  collect 
published  analyses  it  was  thought  best  to  include  this  table,  for  comparison, 
as'the  names  are  all  those  of  well  known  persons,  and  the  figures  have  been 
so^often  quoted. 


Royal  Commentaries,  Book  IT,  Chap.  XVI. 
Vol.  1,  p.  254,  London,  1876. 


44  Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum,  of  Natural  History.   [Vol.  XII, 


ARGENTINA. 

Prof.  Juan  B.  Ambrosetti  has  given  much  time  and  careful  study  to  the 
prehistoric  objects  of  bronze  in  Argentina,  particularly  to  those  from  the 
Calchaqui  region.  As  this  region  lies  just  south  of  Bolivia,  and  so  many  of 
the  bronze  objects  found  there  are  identical  in  form  with  those  of  Peru  and 
Bolivia,  any  information  that  he  has  collected  concerning  their  manufacture 
would  apply  equally  well  to  the  bronzes  of  the  region  we  are  studying. 

In  his  work  on  bronze  l  Prof.  Ambrosetti  gives  analyses  of  sixteen  bronze 
discs.  The  amount  of  tin  in  these  objects  ranged  from  1.57  to  8.67  percent; 
the  average  being  3.60  percent.  These  discs  are  of  various  diameters  and 
are  ornamented  with  embossed  designs.  Besides  these  discs  he  also  gives 
the  analyses  of  a  knife,  and  five  hatchets,  containing  respectively  3.80, 
7.38,  6.06,  3.34,  5.73  and  6  percent  of  tin.  These  with  the  sixteen  discs 
make  a  total  of  twenty-three  objects  analyzed  with  an  average  of  4.10 
percent  of  tin.  Whence  came  the  tin  in  these  objects?  Prof.  Ambrosetti 
states  that  there  is  still  a  doubt  if  that  metal  exists  in  Argentina,  but  quotes 
from  the  Memoirs  of  the  National  Department  of  Mines  and  Geology 
(1893-4)  the  analysis  of  a  specimen  of  mineral  from  Cordoba  reported  as 
containing  2.16  grammes  of  tin  to  the  1000  kilos. 

F.  L.  and  E.  Hess  state  that  cassiterite  has  been  reported  near  Tinogasta, 
in  Rioja  Province,  in  the  department  of  Chicoana,  La  Poma  and  Province 
of  Salta.2 

Belief  in  the  absence  of  tin,  or  at  least  its  presence  in  but  very  small 
quantities,  has  lead  some  archaeologists  to  the  conclusion  that  either  cassi 
terite  was  brought  from  Bolivia  or  that  the  objects  themselves  were  im 
portations  from  that  country.  The  latter  theory  is  now  known  to  be 
incorrect. 

Dr.  Francisco  P.  Moreno  in  his  "Notes  on  the  Anthropogeography  of 
Argentina"  says:—  "In  San  Fernando  and  Corral  Quemado  I  had  proof 
that  the  bronze  implements  which  are  frequent  in  the  Calchaqui  graves, 
were  not  foreign,  but  were  smelted  and  cast  on  the  spot.  I  discovered  some 
casts  and  the  slag  from  the  melting  pot."  3  At  Antofagasta  de  la  Sierra  he 
relates :  —  "In  the  time  of  former  settlements  there  were  cornfields  and 
irrigating  channels,  while  among  the  ruins  of  the  town,  and  in  the  black  lava, 
I  have  discovered  foundries,  and  small  melting-pots  and  broken  casts  for  the 
beautiful  bronze  discs."  4 


1  El  Bronco  en  la  Region  Calchaqui,  Buenos  Aires,  1904. 

2  Bibliography  of  the  Cl oology  and  Mineralogy  of  Tin,  Washington,  1912. 

3  Geographical  Journal,  Vol.  XVIII,  p.  586. 

4  Idem,  p    588. 


Mead,  Prehistoric  Bronze.  45 

Martin  de  Moussy,1  quoted  by  Ambrosetti,  states  that  in  the  Potrero 
Grande  there  are  copper  mines  which  have  been  worked  from  remote  ages. 
That  the  Indians,  before  the  Conquest,  extracted  the  metal  to  make  their 
weapons  and  agricultural  implements;  and  that  in  the  hamlet  of  Jagiie  he 
discovered  the  ruins  of  rude  furnaces  that  had  been  constructed  by  the 
ancient  inhabitants,  with  dross  evidently  produced  by  fusion  on  the  spot. 

Prof.  Ambrosetti  figures  two  pieces  of  slag  —  "  personally  extracted 
from  ruins  during  my  expedition  of  1896."  2  One  he  found  at  Puerto 
Quemada  and  the  other  at  Tolombcm.  These  were  analyzed  by  Dr.  J.  J. 
Kyle  with  the  following  result:  — 

No.  1  No.  2 

Copper  96.80  95.60 

Tin  1.34  3.22 

Arsenic  0 . 40 

Iron  trace  trace 

Carbonic  Anhydride  1.46  1.18 


100.00  100.00 


The  finding  of  furnaces,  melting-pots,  moulds  for  casting,  and  slag  in 
the  ancient  ruins  makes  it  certain  that  the  bronzes  were  cast  on  the  spot, 
and  thus  disposes  of  the  theory  of  their  foreign  origin. 


CHILE. 

In  Chile  bronze  objects,  while  by  no  means  as  common  as  in  Peru  and 
Bolivia,,  are  found  in  considerable  numbers  and  in  various  localities.  Chile 
is  abundantly  supplied  with  copper,  but  as  far  as  is  known  there  is  little  or 
no  tin  in  the  country. 

F.  L.  andE.  Hess3  quote  A.  Gotting  as  follows:  —  "Cassiterite  occurs  in 
a  diabase  in  which  are  also  deposits  of  cinnabar,  siderite,  copper  minerals 
and  gold.  The  tin  is  apparently  not  in  commercial  quantity."  Gilliss  4 
gives  analyses  of  fifteen  varieties  of  copper  ore  found  in  Chile,  and  not  one 
of  them  shows  a  trace  of  tin. 

Alfred  Wilhelm  Stelzner,  an  eminent  authority  says,  "if  we  turn  to 

1  Description  geographique  et  statistique  de  la  Confederation  Argentine,  Paris,  1860, 
tome  II,  p.  395. 

2  El  Bronce  en  la  Region  Calchaqui,  p.  184. 

3  Bibliography  of  the  Geology  and  Mineralogy  of  Tin,  p.  55. 

*  U.  S.  Naval  Astronomical  Expedition  to  the  Southern  Hemisphere. 


46  Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.    [Vol.  XII, 

Chile  we  find  no  tin  mining,  nor  a  single  reliable  account,  even  of  the  smallest 
amount  of  tin  having  been  found  there."  l  Here  again,  as  in  the  Calchaqui 
region,  according  to  our  present  knowledge,  copper  exists  but  no  tin,  or  at 
least  in  very  small  quantities.  Did  the  prehistoric  people  of  Chile  work  tin 
mines  of  which  we  are  ignorant,  or  had  they  discovered  copper  ores  contain 
ing  as  high  a  percentage  of  tin  as  the  Cornwall  coppers,  of  which  nothing  is 
now  known;  or  did  they  obtain  their  tin  from  their  northern  neighbors? 
This  presents  one  of  the  important  historical  problems  of  our  subject  to 
which  we  must  now  give  some  attention. 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION. 

"  Copper  and  its  Alloys  in  Prehistoric  Times,"  2  the  subject  of  the 
presidential  address  of  W.  Gowland  before  the  Anthropological  Institute  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  seems  to  me  to  deserve  more  than  ordinary 
attention  of  those  who  are  trying  to  solve  the  problems  of  prehistoric  bronzes. 
His  position  as  Professor  of  Metallurgy  at  the  Royal  School  of  Mines  gives 
his  statements  much  authority.  Following  are  a  few  excerpts  from  his 
address:  — 

The  camp  fire  was,  I  hold,  the  first  metallurgical  furnace.  Pieces  of  ore  which 
among  the  ring  of  stones  enclosing  the  fire,  or  which  accidently  were  embedded  in  its 
embers,  would  become  reduced  to  metal.  The  cakes  or  lumps  so  produced  would 
naturally  attract  attention  of  primitive  man,  and  if  he  attempted  to  fashion  them,  as 
he  was  accustomed  in  making  his  implements  of  stone,  he  would  then  become  ac 
quainted  with  their  curious  properties  of  malleability  and  toughness,  wanting  in  his 
customary  materials,  and  so  be  lead  to  apply  them  to  practical  use. 

Furnaces  were  built  in  high  places  exposed  to  the  wind,  the  air  forced  by  a  breeze 
through  the  apertures  between  the  stones,  giving  rise  to  a  sufficiently  high  tempera 
ture  for  the  reduction  of  the  metal,  and  no  artificial  blast  was  needed. 

Then  as  regards  the  metallic  ores  which  were  within  the  reach  of  prehistoric  man, 
they  were  undoubtedly  those  which  occur  at  the  surface  of  the  ground,  i.  e.,  when  a 
mineral  vein  outcrops  or  is  exposed.  Now  the  ores  which  occur  in  this  part  of  a  vein 
are  as  a  rule  oxides  and  carbonates,  which  of  all  ores  are  most  easily  reducible  to  metal, 
and  from  all  these  metals  can  be  obtained  without  any  difficulty  whatever  by  treating 
them  in  the  primitive  "hole  in  the  ground"  furnaces  we  have  considered. 

So  that  when  once  the  discovery  was  made  that,  simply  by  heating  stones  of  a 
certain  colour  and  weight,  metal  could  be  obtained,  and  when  the  possible  applica- 


1  Zeitschrift  dor  Deutschen  geologischen  Gesellschaft,  vol.  XLIX,  p.  76, 

2  Journal  Anthropological  Institute  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  vol.  XXXVI,  pp.  11- 
38. 


1915.]  Mead,  Prehistoric  Bronze.  47 

tions  of  the  metal  to  useful  purposes  were  also  discovered,  there  would  be,  it  is  certain, 
a  large  production  in  the  localities  where  these  stones  or  ores  occurred.  Hence  the 
vast  amount  of  prehistoric  metal  objects  which  have  been  unearthed  is  by  no  means 
surprising. 

The  localities  where  these  oxides  and  carbonate  ores  occurred  must  have  been 
the  centres  whence  the  metal  or  metals  were  supplied  to  others,  but  it  does  not  neces 
sarily  follow  that  in  them,  or  even  near  them,  the  largest  number  of  metal  objects 
were  always  made,  or  should  always  be  found,  for  the  crude  metal,  more  especially 
in  later  times,  would  often  be  merely  an  object  of  barter  and  would  be  worked  into 
useful  forms  in  more  or  less  distant  places. 

It  had  been  stated  by  a  number  of  authors  that  bronze  could  not  be 
produced  by  smelting  a  copper  ore  containing  tin  ore.  Among  others  Sir 
John  Lubbock 1  publishes  the  report  of  Alfred  Jenkin,  an  experienced 
assayer,  who  experimented  with  the  tin-copper  Cornish  ores  and  writes: — 

I  do  not  think  there  are  any  Cornish  ores  which  can  be  so  smelted  as  to  produce 
a  mixed  metal  consisting  only  of  copper  and  tin,  and  in  such  proportion  as  to  form 
bronze:  and  for  this  reason,  that  although  the  ore  may  contain  a  sufficient  proportion 
of  tin,  yet,  as  they  also  contain  other  ingredients,  it  would,  I  think,  be  impossible  to 
get  rid  of  all  such  ingredients  without  at  the  same  time  getting  rid  of  the  tin  also. 

Professor  Gowland  answers  these  statements  by  preparing  a  furnace  of 
the  "simplest  primitive  form,  merely  a  hole  in  the  ground."  In  this  he 
smelted  a  mixture  of  copper  ore  (green  carbonate)  and  tin  stone,  and  ob 
tained  a  copper-tin  alloy.  He  says :  — 

This  experiment  proves  indisputably  that  when  a  copper  ore  containing  tin 
ore  was  smelted  by  primitive  man,  a  bronze  consisting  of  copper  and  tin  was  obtained, 
and  affords  a  complete  refutation  of  the  statements  that  such  ores  will  only  yield 
copper  and  not  a  copper  alloy. 

We  will  now  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  alloys,  accidental  and  intentional, 
which  were  employed  in  prehistoric  times.  We  will  first  consider  the  alloys  which 
were  the  accidental  result  of  smelting  impure  ore.  In  this  category  may  be  placed 
all  those  which  contain  less  than  about  1-2  percent  of  tin,  although  in  exceptional 
cases  a  much  larger  percentage  of  tin  may  be  accidental,  as,  for  example,  when  the 
metal  was  obtained  by  smelting  a  copper  ore  rich  in  tin. 

t» 

The  following  are  some  of  the  points  made  in  Prof.  Gowland's  address:  — 
He  holds  that  in  the  early  metal  age  the  metals  that  are  often  present  in 
copper  have  not  been  intentionally  added,  but  are  the  result  of  smelting 
impure  copper  ore,  but  in  somewhat  later  times  when  experience  had  shown 
that  the  addition  of  certain  other  metals  to  copper  yielded  a  metal  possessing 
more  useful  properties  than  copper  ore  alone,  then  these  additions  were  made. 


Prehistoric  Times,  p.  608. 


48  Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.   [Vol.  XII, 

The  term  "copper"  should  be  applied  to  all  implements  which  contain 
96  percent  of  copper  and  upwards,  the  remainder,  4  percent  or  less,  being  an 
assemblage  in  various  proportions  of  two  or  more  other  metals,  with  occa 
sionally  sulphur;  those  containing  two  or  more  percent  of  tin  to  be  excepted. 
That  alloys  containing  less  than  about  1-2  percent  of  tin  come  within  the 
accidental  category,  although  in  exceptional  cases,  as  when  Cornwall  or 
other  tin  and  copper  ores  were  used,  a  very  much  larger  percentage  of  tin 
may  be  accidental. 

Verneau  and  Rivet  say :  — 

One  might  object,  it  is  true,  that  the  presence  of  tin  in  the  zones  already  men 
tioned  is  not  intentional,  that  it  is  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  mineral  employed. 
To  this  objection  Boman  answers  that  the  only  strata  known  here  of  native  copper 
containing  tin,  and  that  in  very  small  quantity,  is  that  of  Corocoro,  in  Bolivia,  and 
if  one  admits  that  some  parcels  of  crystals  mixed  with  the  copper  ore  would  explain 
the  presence  of  tin,  in  objects  containing  tin,  this  would  not  apply  to  some  alloys 
where  the  metal  exists  in  a  proportion  of  10  to  16  per  100,  as  is  met  with  in  Bolivia 
and  the  Argentine  Republic.  Sancho  Dias  expresses  the  same  opinion.1 

Weed  says :  — 

The  Corocoro  mines  have  been  worked  from  prehistoric  times,  but  the  production 
is  only  known  since  1879.  The  copper  is  mainly  native:  but  arsenates  and  glance 
occur.  Domeykite  (arsenic  28  percent,  and  copper  71  percent)  occurs.2 

David  Forbes  says :  — 

The  well-known  copper  mines  of  Corocoro  (Bolivia)  are  situated  in  the  red 
sandstone  of  this  formation  and  have  been  worked  by  the  Indians  from  time  imme 
morial.  They  were  found  in  operation  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  conquest,  and 
since  then,  up  to  the  present  date,  have  gradually  increased  in  importance,  notwith 
standing  that  many  of  the  mining  and  metallurgical  processes  are  conducted  in  a 
manner  more  indicative  of  the  times  of  the  Inca  dynasty  than  of  the  nineteenth 
century. 

The  Veta  Remacoia,  or  main  seam  of  copper  is  found  to  produce  native  copper, 
disseminated  irregularly  through  a  coarse  grit,  in  grains,  irregular  lumps,  or  plates, 
sometimes  of  very  considerable  size.  This  seam  is  considered  to  have  been  the  most 
anciently  worked  deposit  of  Corocoro,  as  it  had  been  extensively  worked  by  the 
Indians  before  the  Spanish  conquest. 

The  formation  in  which  the  Corocoro  mines  occur  extends  from  Lake  Titicaca 
southward  nearly,  if  not  quite,  through  Bolivia.3 

As  the  bronzes  from  Bolivia  contain  the  most  tin  I  considered  that 
country  the  best  field  in  the  old  Peruvian  Empire  for  investigation  in  an 

1  Ethnographic  Ancienne  De  L'Equatcur,  p.  333. 

2  The  Copper  Mines  of  the  World,  pp.  180-181. 

11  Quarterly  Jour,  of  the  Geological  Soc.  of  London,  Vol.  17,  pp.  40  and  42. 


1915.]  Mead,  Prehistoric  Bronze.  49 

attempt  to  determine,  as  far  as  such  things  can  be  determined,  the  truth  in 
regard  to  the  controversy  between  those  who  believe  in  the  accidental,  and 
others  who  maintain  the  intentional  theory  of  these  bronzes. 

Before  beginning  this  study  I  had  supposed  it  a  comparatively  easy 
matter  to  ascertain  the  composition  of  many  of  the  Bolivian  copper  ores; 
but  as  I  examined  work  after  work  on  metals  and  mining,  I  became  more  and 
more  astonished  at  the  meager  information  they  contained  on  this  point. 
While  I  should  have  liked  to  have  found  analyses  of  a  large  number  of  Boli 
vian  coppers,  still  enough  information  has  been  collected  to  convince  me  that 
these  old  implements  could  not  have  been  made  of  a  metal  produced  by 
smelting  impure  copper  ores.1 

In  his  "Story  of  Machu  Picchu"  2  Professor  Hiram  Bingham  figures 
quite  a  large  piece  of  tin  which  he  considers  as  perhaps  the  most  important 
of  his  discoveries  in  that  ancient  ruined  city,  and  remarks :  — 

It  has  been  generally  supposed  that  the  ancient  peoples  of  Peru  did  not  know  how 
to  manufacture  bronze,  but  that  all  their  bronze  was  accidental.  This  picture  shows  a 
piece  of  pure  tin,  which  had  apparently  been  rolled  up  by  the  Incas  or  their  pre 
decessors  like  a  sandwich.  From  it,  it  is  supposed,  slices  were  cut  when  the  artisan 
to  whom  it  belonged  needed  tin  in  the  making  of  bronze.  It  is  a  strong  indication 
that  the  inhabitants  of  Machu  Picchu  knew  how  to  make  bronze. 

In  conclusion  I  should  like  to  return  to  the  subject  of  the  copper  clamps, 
or  bolts  as  they  have  sometimes  been  called,  from  Tiahuanaco.  It  seems  to 
me  that  in  these  objects  we  have  a  strong  argument  on  the  side  of  the 
intentional  theory  of  Peruvian  bronze. 

Of  the  twenty-three  objects  from  Tiahuanaco  analyzed  by  Wissler  and 


1  .Since  writing  the  above  I  have  received  the  following  letter  from  Mr.  R.  M.  Atwatcr 
Jr. :  -- 

' '  Replying  to  your  letter  of  the  22nd  instant,  I  wish  to  say  that  I  shall  be  very  glad  indeed 
to  give  you  all  t lie  information  I  possess  in  regard  to  Bolivian  mines,  and  shall  take  an  early 
opportunity  to  call  on  you,  in  order  to  discuss  the  matter  thoroughly.  In  the  meanwhile 
you  are  perfectly  safe  in  proceeding  upon  the  ground  that  there  does  not  exist  in  the  mines  of 
Bolivia  any  natural  alloy  of  copper  and  tin,  or  either  veins  or  placers  where  the  two  metals 
occurred  within  such  proximity  that  their  mixture  could  be  accidental.  Any  race  capable  of 
making  gold  and  silver  ornaments,  such  as  you  have  seen  coming  from  Old  Peru,  were  equally 
capable  of  smelting  tin  and  alloying  the  same  with  the  native  copper.  The  discovery  of 
native  copper  in  stream  beds  was  easy,  although,  no  doubt,  it  gave  rise  to  much  disappoint 
ment  when  the  finder  discovered  that  the  copper  was  not  gold.  The  discovery  of  tin,  however, 
must  have  been  by  a  different  method,  since  tin-stone  has  not  a  metallic  appearance,  and 
crushes  to  powder  under  the  hammer.  The  discovery  of  its  metallic  nature  must  have  been 
the  result  of  a  deliberate  or  accidental  smelting  operation." 

Mr.  Atwater  has  spent  much  time  in  Bolivia,  and  is  familiar  with  the  copper  ores 
and  copper  mining  in  that  country.  He  informs  me  that  he  has  made  some  five  hundred 
essays  and  analyses  of  Bolivian  copper  ores,  and  that  they  show  no  tin. 

2  The  National  Geographic  Maga/ine,  Feb.,  1915. 


50  Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.   [Vol.  XII, 

by  De  Mortellet,  all  with  the  exception  of  the  seven  clamps  are  bronze, 
averaging  over  6|  percent  of  tin.  The  clamps  are  in  each  case  of  nearly 
pure  copper,  without  a  trace  of  tin.  We  must  believe  either  that  these  were 
purposely  so  made,  or  that  it  was  simply  a  coincidence;  if  the  latter  it  is 
certainly  a  very  remarkable  one.  Two  of  these  clamps  are  shown  in  Fig.  2. 
I  can  conceive  of  but  one  other  theory  that  could  be  advanced  to  explain  the 
absence  of  tin  in  these  clamps,  and  that  is  that  they  are  much  older  than  any 
of  the  other  objects  from  Tiahuanaco  that  have  been  analyzed;  that  they 
were  made  before  the  discovery  of  bronze.  This  seems  to  me  improbable. 

Too  much  caution  cannot  be  exercised  in  accepting  published  statements 
regarding  prehistoric  bronze  implements  from  Peru.  Authors  otherwise 
reliable  have  been  known  to  class  all  copper  and  bronze  objects  under  the 
head  of  bronze,  without  the  formality  of  proper  tests.  Thus  in  Squier's 
Peru  1  (p.  175),  four  agricultural  implements  are  figured  and  labeled  bronze. 
Two  of  these  implements  are  in  the  Museum's  collection,  and  their  analyses 
will  be  found  in  the  table  by  Wissler,  under  the  catalogue  numbers  of  816 
and  855.  They  are  not  bronze. 

Posnansky  gives  three  plates,  containing  forty-eight  metal  objects,  all 
labeled  bronze.  One  of  his  plates  shows  three  of  the  clamps,  which  have 
just  been  discussed,  and  a  portion  of  a  fourth.  In  his  text  he  says:  "The 
material  is  tempered  bronze  by  a  process  to-day  not  understood."  2  (El 
material  es  de  bronce  templado  por  procedimientos  hoy  desconocidos).  As 
no  chemical  analysis  is  given,  we  are  left  to  infer  that  it  was  taken  for 
granted  that  they  were  of  bronze,  and  were  so  labeled. 

Authors  who  have  advocated  the  accidental  theory  to  account  for  these 
bronzes  have  always  used  as  their  chief  reason  for  that  belief  the  fact  that 
such  objects  as  knives  or  chisels  often  contain  a  smaller  percentage  of  tin 
than  some  other  pieces  like  spoons  or  such  pins  as  have  no  cutting  edge  at 
the  upper  end.  This  argument  loses  entirely  its  force  when  we  inquire  into 
the  condition  under  which  these  things  were  made,  and  the  behavior  of 
copper  and  tin  when  smelted  together. 

Dr.  A.  Snowden  Piggot 3  in  writing  on  the  bronze  statues  of  Alexander 
by  the  celebrated  artist  Lysippus,  the  three  thousand  bronze  statues  found 
at  Athens  by  the  Roman  Consul  Mutianus,  and  the  many  statues  at  Olympia 
and  Delphi,  says: 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  the  ancients  possessed  the  skill  of  the 
moderns  in  the  management  of  this  metal.  Having  no  means  of  ascertaining  with 


1  Incidents  of  Travel  and  Exploration  in  the  Land  of  the  Incas,  New  York,  1877. 

2  Monumentos  prehistoricos  de  Tiahuanacu,  La  Paz,  Bolivia,  1912. 
'  The  Chemistry  and  Metallurgy  of  Copper. 


1915.]  Mead,  Prehistoric  Bronze.  51 

certainty  the  actual  composition  of  these  alloys,  they  could  not  provide  against  the 
oxidation  of  the  tin,  and  consequent  refining  of  copper,  which  is  one  of  the  great 
difficulties  in  working  this  alloy.  Consequently,  analysis  has  shown  that  their 
bronzes  are  of  very  variable  composition,  some  of  them  containing  the  proper  quantity 
of  tin,  and  dthers  being  nearly  pure  copper. 

Indeed,  this  difficulty  has  not  always  been  overcome  in  modern  works.  The 
statue  of  Desaic,  in  Place  Dauphine,  and  the  great  column  in  the  Place  Vendome,  are 
signal  instances  of  failure  in  this  respect.  On  analyzing,  separately,  specimens  taken 
from  the  bas-reliefs  of  the  pedestal  of  this  column,  from  the  shaft,  and  from  the 
capital,  it  was  found  that  the  first  contained  six  per  cent  of  tin,  the  second  much  less, 
and  the  third  only  0.21  per  cent,  being  nearly  pure  copper. 

It  seems  to  me  that  these  statements  of  Dr.  Piggot  explain  satisfactorily 
the  variation  in  the  quantity  of  tin  in  Peruvian  bronzes. 

Finally,  taking  into  consideration  the  positive  statements  of  Garcilasso 
and  Padre  Barba  that  the  Indians  knew  the  secret  of  combining  tin  with 
copper  to  harden  their  implements,  and  after  a  careful  study  of  the  fore 
going  analyses,  which  show  that  the  bronze  objects  contain  very  considerable 
amounts  of  tin,  especially  those  found  in  Bolivia,  where  it  is  now  pretty 
certain  that  the  copper  ores  contain  no  tin;  the  discovery  of  a  piece  of  pure 
tin  in  the  Ruins  of  Machu  Picchu;  the  finding  of  smelting  furnaces,  slag 
containing  tin,  and  moulds  for  casting  in  Argentina  where  all  known  coppers 
have  no  tin  in  their  impurities;  and  such  facts  as  can  be  gathered  concerning 
the  composition  of  all  copper  ores  in  the  region  under  discussion,  we  can 
but  come  to  the  same  conclusion  as  did  Boman,  that  "We  must  abandon 
the  accidental  theory."  1 

i  Antiquites  De  La  Region  Andine,  p.  866. 


52  Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.    [Vol.  XII. 


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